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B Lab challenges businesses to measure, increase impact

Becoming a B Corp can be a challenging but worthwhile process for companies who do business for good and want to improve their operations with best practices from like-minded entrepreneurs. But B Lab recently launched a stepping stone for companies who aren’t quite ready to reach for B Corp certification but want to improve their impact nonetheless. It's an online questionnaire tool that can assess a business, show how it compares to its peers and provide customized pointers on how to improve—straight from local businesses who’ve been there. The questions are tailored to a company’s sector and size, and all types are invited to participate.

B Corp rolled out this pilot program in New York City but has recently brought it to Colorado with the Best for Colorado Challenge. B Lab partnered with the City of Denver to kick off the challenge in May, with the goal of enlisting 500 Colorado companies to complete the assessment by December 11, 2017, and enlisting over 1,000 companies by the end of 2018. More than 100 companies have already participated.

"Best for Colorado is a program with a purpose to get Colorado businesses involved in measuring their impact and teaching them how to create higher quality jobs, build stronger communities and preserve a healthier environment," says B Lab’s Hardik Savalia. "Participating companies access unique marketing and technical assistance resources, increasing their ability to attract and retain customers and talent, access capital and build more resilient businesses."

The assessment is free and takes about 30 minutes to complete at bestforco.com. B Lab plans to roll out similar programs in other cities and states throughout 2017 and beyond, but Savalia says, “the ultimate goal is that these companies start implementing these best practices for workers and our communities."